The Wolf of the Moon
by Leo of the stars
Summary: A new wolf, the color of silver moon, has found the group. Who is she, and what is she doing there...
1. Chase

Hi! Well, I love Wolf's Rain, and decided to try my hand at it. Let me know if I should continue with it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Wolf's Rain.

Kiba slowed a bit in his running, then stopped completely, turning his head slightly to hear above the howling wind. His white ears pricked to capture the littlest sound. "Kiba, what are you doing?" called Hige, who had also slowed, following his leader's example. "I have a feeling we're not alone. Something is tracking us." He answered warily. "All the more reason for us to keep going." growled Tsume. "Now let's go. You all right there, Toboe?"

The youngest wolf nodded his red-brown head wearily. "Yeah. Let's keep going." Kiba took one last look back, the cruel, cold wind ruffling his white fur. He then headed off again, leading his three wolf companions into the snow.

About a mile behind them, bright amber eyes peered into the whirling snow. The moonbeams glistened off of pearly white fangs, gleamed off of fur silver as the orb from which they came. The silver wolf knew her mission, knew who she was tracking. She had to find the white wolf, the one who would find Cheza, the one who would help open the gates to Paradise. She was close. Her paws began again the swift run.

Kiba still couldn't shake the feeling that they were being followed. And who - or whatever was chasing them was getting closer, and they were getting more and more fatigued. There was no choice for it. "Stop!" Kiba called out.

Eight pairs of paws slid to a stop on the frozen ground. "We have to rest. Whatever is following us is getting closer, and we can't outrun it. We have to ambush it." "But what if it's an army? What if the Nobles have followed us?" Tsume barked out. "We have to take that chance." Kiba replied. "No way! I'm not staying here to be turned into mince meat!" Tsume growled. "We have no choice!" Kiba growled back. Both wolves' hackles raised, and they bared their fangs at each other.

"Hey, hey! Cut it out, you two!" Hige shouldered his tan bulk between the two snarling wolves. Toboe stepped forward. "Kiba's right, Tsume. We can't keep running." Tsume backed off, but still didn't stop growling. Kiba faced Toboe and Hige. "Now, there are some rocks just over there. If we can get to them, we might have a chance of not being seen." They agreed, and all four wolves headed towards the cluster of medium sized boulders.

Silver paws ate up the slippery white ground with astonishing speed, even for a wolf. She inhaled deeply, the cold stinging the sensitive nose, but nonetheless bringing in the scent of the white wolf and his companions. Ahead of her, the wolf could see a cluster of boulders. The White One was not far. She was so close, but the journey was taking its toll on her. She began to slow near the rocks, some instinct making her increasingly wary. She sniffed carefully, but saw only the flash of fangs as a white blur tore into her.

Kiba blended into the snow perfectly with his white coat, but Tsume, Hige, and Toboe did not, so he told them to lay low behind the formation. He clambered on top of the lowest boulder, hunkered down, and waited. He didn't have to wait long. A new scent came to him, and his guard was put up instantly. As the silver blur came past his line of vision, he bared his fangs and attacked.

It shocked him when he barreled into fur. A yelp was heard, and he saw a flash of fangs just before what he had hit retaliated in kind. His yellow eyes narrowed as he looked for what he had hit, but all he saw was a flash of silver in the wind. A snarl caught his attention to his left, and he saw gleaming fangs reflected in the light of the full moon. As luck – or the Fates – would have it, the whirling snowy winds died slowly, and he was able to see what he was fighting.

Hearing a yelp, Toboe, Tsume, and Hige had jumped from their places, but the snow had prevented them from seeing anything but white and silver. Now with the dying wind, however, they cantered to where their leader stood. There was a bit of blood on his shoulder, from a bite mark that had been administered by whom they were now all staring at.

A female wolf, the moonlight reflecting silver off of her coat, except where red blood dripped from her leg, stood staring at them in equal shock. She was panting, and had obviously been running as long as they had, if they raggedness of her coat and how thin she was were any example. She was snarling, but lowered her lips and concealed her fangs as she recognized who they were.

The four male wolves were shocked when she slowly walked forward to meet them, limping slightly from the wound on her leg that Kiba had inflicted. She peered hard at Kiba and the others out of eyes hard as the frozen ice on which they stood. Finally she said, "It is you. All this time I have searched, but I have finally found you." Her voice was soft.

Toboe's silver bracelet jangled as he placed a paw forward. "Who are you?" Tsume shifted his weight and growled low in his scarred chest. "What do you want?" The silver wolf paid no heed to the questions, but instead turned her attention to the wound on Kiba's shoulder. "I am sorry." She said softly, and walked forward directly to him.

Hige, Tsume, and Toboe tensed as the stranger approached their leader, unsure of her purpose near him. It soon became clear, however, when she reached him. She began to lick his wound gently, cleansing the bite and healing it. Kiba said nothing, but angled his head to watch her in amazement out of one yellow eye.

"What do you think you're doing?" gasped out Hige. Tsume, normally the tough one of the four, now used the quietest voice any of them had ever heard. "She is using the ancient rites of the wolves. She is asking Kiba's permission to stay." The other two sucked in their breaths. "Why isn't Kiba doing anything? He's just…sitting there." Toboe whispered. "That is the question." murmured Tsume to himself.

Kiba would have groaned in relief at the gentle, healing motion, if he could have done so, for the fangs had sunk deep. But, being a wolf, he could not. Instead, he asked, "Who are you?"


	2. The Gin Rei

The female was silent, continuing to lick the wound until it was relatively closed. Then, and only then, did she raise her head. "I am called Tsuki by the few who know me. It is the only name I have, and the only one you will receive for now." She stepped back a few paces and sat, the remaining wind ruffling her fur.

The male wolves remained silent, watching her, unsure of how to react to this new turn of events. Toboe finally spoke up. "Your fur. It's silver." Tsuki nodded. "Yes. It is my destiny; my cross to bear to have this color. You will never find another like it. I am hunted for it, even more so than normal wolves."

Tsume growled. "So you'd bring them after us? We don't have time to be protecting strays. We have our own problems." Tsuki lifted her lips the smallest bit, revealing her fangs. "I do not seek protection. I seek Cheza." She heard their quick gasps of shock, but ignored them. She turned to Kiba. "And I seek you. The White Wolf who will find Cheza, and lead us to Paradise."

Kiba looked directly at her, his golden eyes boring into hers. "How do you know these things? Why should we trust you?" Tsuki lowered her head. "I come to you to find the White Flower. To find Paradise. I can help you. I have come to offer my assistance, such as it is." Hige looked at her questioningly. "What help can you give? There's no food to hunt; we wouldn't be able to feed you." Tsuki looked away from them. "I have…abilities. I can help you to find Cheza."

Tsume snarled again. "Now she's lying. Only Kiba knows where to find Cheza." Tsuki growled back. "He is. But I can help him. I can…sense her." "Liar." The silver wolf jumped to her feet, openly snarling now. "I do not lie. I am the Gin Rei. I seek Paradise for our kind!"

Silence, except for the wind, was loud in the white expanse of snow. Hige, Toboe, Kiba, and Tsume stared at her in shock, unable to say anything. Finally, Tsume spoke again. "The Gin Rei is a myth. The silver wolf of the moon has been extinct since she was destroyed years and years ago. One of the first wolves to be hunted." Tsuki's eyes were calm, and her silver fur glistened. "I was destroyed. But I have been reborn."


End file.
